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I have been freelancing as a climbing instructor for a climbing centre near me.They give me some dates and times with a view to add more should they require it, I turn up on time and they inform me that my first and last session has been cancelled. No worries as the guy working with me who is employed by the centre said I should invoice them for the time anyway.
The day after I turn up and my 2nd and 3rd session is cancelled but another person i'm working with (also employed by the centre) said I just invoice for the sessions worked!
I have 3 sessions tomorrow and sunday and I have turned down work with someone else to do the Sat which would pay about the same (assuming all my sessions are booked).
I don't want to risk losing a client over a few hours but I can't afford to turn down work that I know I will get paid for a full day!
I feel for you, as a freelance teacher I got dicked around for the last year to the extreme.
I no longer teach.
You need to decide what is more important - that pay of having the work from them.
I have had this in the past - I ended up having an email booking system and invoices that stated clearly on the bottom of which were terms such as 'cancel at less than a weeks notice=full pay; two weeks=50% pay etc. I ended up standing up to Rotherham council on the same issue, and they agreed to pay me. I would never take less than a full days rate if I was freelancing now.
I now sit the other side of the fence.
For what it is worth, once I have booked a freelancer they will get paid regardless of if the work happens (although we don't do sessions). I have sometimes phoned up and said 'we don't need you, feel free to find other work that week/day' and I have a good enough relationship with my chaps and chapesses that I doubt they would shaft me.
Stand up for your pay, and spend the free hours looking for a new nest or three to spread your work eggs around in as a freelancer.
Where are you based and what qualies to you have?
Matt
Chief Instructor
Hi matt thanks for that, My problem is that I am being told one thing by one employee and another by someone else!
regards
(I am SPA qualified based in Northwest)
Hi matt thanks for that, My problem is that I am being told one thing by one employee and another by someone else!
You need to speak with the boss.
welcome to the world of the freelancer. Some of my regular weekly phone conversations went as follows
Wednesday - Thursday: Hi are you available next week? We could do with you in all week"
you then re-arrange your diary, juggle stuff about, then hear nothing
Friday. Approx 5.00pm "Hi, Yes... there's been a change of plan we don't need you in next week now"
Note the absence of anything remotely resembling an apology for dicking me about
I would use whatever cancellation policy the centre uses for their clients, they would struggle to argue its unfair then. Some centres are definatly better than others in this but you should stand up for your pay. If you don't ask you won't get.
+1 chudsy. At the local dry ski slope, instructors are put to work cleaning the staff room / toilets if their lesson fails to turn up. Yes, they're working beneath them, but they're still getting £18 an hour for cleaning, which is well over the going rate....
Yeh welcome to freelancing. My whole August has been dead after a client spontaneously postponed a months work indefinitely. Thanks guys.
You need to speak to the decision maker at the centre.
Then agree terms, explain that you need some sort of commitment that if you are booked for a days work you will expect full payment and if you are given short notice of cancellation as said above there will be a sliding scale of pay due dependant on how much notice is given.
It works both ways you know where you are with it and the centre will try and keep you busy doing whatever even finding more work and therefore making the centre boss more revenue
good luck
As above, that's freelancing. There are loads of good things about it, this is one of the negatives.
As above, make a choice over what you are prepared to do, speak to boss and still look for more work.
Matt